Real Clues

[RealClues] #381: Hyperlocalism

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Special Announcement: Are you in the summer doldrums? Are you ready to jumpstart your business? If so, we have just what you need. See Welcome Notes for more details.

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Table of Contents
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1. CoachingClues: Hyperlocalism: Hot to Get to the Top on Google
2. Welcome Notes: Florida, New Zealand, Australia--REC hits the road
3. Reprise: Secrets of Powerful Negotiation (Part 1 of 6)
4. Create a Better Life: Nine Ways to Dump Your Slump
5. Featured Products: Way Cool--You'll Love These 3D Virtual Tours!
6. Listen and Learn Real Estate: 180 podcasts, 50 hours of great information, one low price.
Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
7. Give Us Your Feedback on this Newsletter
8. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

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1. CoachingClues: Hyperlocalism: How to Get to the Top on Google
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How can you get to the top of the search engines in your area? The answer may be cheaper and easier than you think.

Achieving top placement on Google or any other search engine can be both difficult and expensive. Even in small towns, you still may be competing for search engine placement with your national firm, your local office, plus any other real estate companies who serve your area. You also compete against your local Multiple Listing Service as well as Realtor.com.

To gain better exposure, you could use pay-per-click (PPC) ads. The challenge is that PPC can be expensive. Furthermore, as web marketing has evolved, web users have become increasingly blind to PPC ads. Even if someone does click through, it doesn't mean that you will generate a lead.

You could hire a lead generation company and pay 25-35 percent of your commission for the leads they generate. The problem is other agents are competing for the same leads. You could also "buy a zip code" and receive all the leads for that location. Since many buyers and sellers contact agents 12 to 18 months before they are ready to transact business, an additional issue becomes how to manage these leads for long periods.

The first clues on how to compete in today's Web 2.0 environment came from the blogosphere. Bloggers such as Teresa Boardman (StPaulRealEstateBlog.com and RealEstateWeenie.com) used their blogs to bypass the web marketing efforts of major real estate companies. The reason for their success was simple: the search engines prefer a steady stream of photos and fresh content as opposed to static websites. Boardman also is one of the first agents to consistently focus on lifestyle. Her blog illustrates everything that is great about living in St. Paul.

Boardman's blog is also an excellent example of hyperlocalism. The core concept has been around for years. Thousands of mega-producers have reached the top by having a geographical farm or serving a specific market niche such as golf course properties. The goal is to become the undisputed expert in this small market niche.

The same approach works on the web today. Hyperlocalism is about specialization. Unless you're in a very small market area, you can no longer afford to be all things to all clients. Instead, the strategy is to specialize to meet the needs of a specific group of potential clients.

The hyperlocalism model is simple. The national/regional brand establishes the corporate culture and value proposition. The office serves the same function for the overall market area it serves. The agents are responsible for becoming the go-to expert for the specific niche they serve.

In "Marketing Warfare," Ries and Trout argue that major players cannot and will not try to compete for small market niches. This is where becoming a specialist will translate into market dominance. Hyperlocalism (or hyper-specialization) represents the best way for you to climb to the top of the search engines. Here are some important tips.

1. Choose a brand and obtain a new URL that uses your hyperlocal niche.
For example, you might obtain 10560CondosWestwood90024.com. This URL includes the property address, the city, and the zip code of this particular high-rise condominium building. When someone searches on the web, this site should come up whether the user searches on the property address, the city, or the zip code. The specificity helps the search engine recognize this is an excellent match for the users' search.

2. Make your site a destination site
To have people visit your site regularly, even if they are not currently buying or selling, make your site about the local lifestyle. Lifestyle is the foundation upon which hyperlocalism is built. To illustrate, if your niche has large numbers of young families, focus on fun activities for small children. This could be an upcoming puppet show, swimming lessons for toddlers, or a holiday "parade" where the kids decorate their bikes and ride through the area together.

3. Use podcasts and video to build search engine ranking
The search engines place a premium on fresh content. Video seems to rank the most highly followed by podcasts. To strengthen your site, interview local business owners about what they do. See if they are willing to provide a coupon or some other item of value to your website visitors. You could also interview the local high school football coach about the upcoming big game. The point is to be a lifestyle resource, not just a real estate resource.

4. Use the social media
Create a fan page on Facebook for your hyperlocal niche (i.e. "90024 High-Rise Fans.") Invite people who love this lifestyle to post about what they enjoy. You host the fan page and engage in the conversation. Avoid sending marketing messages. Instead, stay focused on sharing what's fabulous about living there. Post testimonials about other businesses that you feel would be a good fit for your market niche.

By following these steps, you will become the go-to expert for your market niche. This will result in higher search engine placement, more traffic to your site, and more closed transactions.

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2. Welcome Notes
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Welcome to our new subscribers this week. Each week RealClues provides you with great strategies to improve both your business and your life. If you find this issue of RealClues helpful, take a moment to hit the "forward" button and send it to another friend in the business.

Are you attending the Florida Association of Realtors Conference this week in Orlando? If so, I'm speaking on two great topics, one for agents and one for managers. I would love to meet you in person if you're there. The agent session is called, "Why Didn't You Just Text Me: Nine Secrets for Bridging the Generation Gap." It received rave reviews at the Coldwell Banker Conference. The agents who attended said, "I finally understand what's happening with my kids and my younger clients!" I also will be doing a session for managers called "Coach Your Office to Increased Profitability." That session will be streamed live on Thursday afternoon on the Florida Association of Realtors website. Tune in for some great tips! http://www.floridarealtorsconvention.org/

The format for RealClues will be shortened for the next five weeks. I have a four-week, five-city consulting gig in Australia and New Zealand and will have limited web access while I'm
"down under."

We also have an incredible offer for you. You may have been watching the topics every week in this newsletter for Listen and Learn and wanted to subscribe, but didn't want to spend $29.95 per month. Due to the tough economy, we're now making that entire library of 180 podcasts (with new additions every month) available for one year for just $97.00--that's over 50 hours of training, interviews with top performing agents, plus sessions from many of real estate's top speakers as well. This is an incredible value. We will continue to grow the library throughout the year. Best of all, you can download these to your computer or MP3 player and take them with you when you exercise, while you're driving to an appointment, or when you're just having a quiet open house. To see 50 of the 180 titles click on http://budurl.com/azhc and/or to order: http://listenandlearnrealestate.com/amember/signup.php

Have a great week!

Bernice Ross and Byron Van Arsdale, Chief Dough Makers
www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.RealEstateDough.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.RossdalePress.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com, and www.TeleconferenceLine.com

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3. Reprise: Secrets of Powerful Negotiation (Part 1 of 6)
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The number one skill you need to succeed in today's market is the ability to negotiate. For the next six weeks, we'll be running this powerful series that unlocks the secrets of getting your clients to say "Yes."

http://budurl.com/3mxh

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4. Create a Better Life: Nine Ways to Dump Your Slump
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This article first ran in mid 2008. Given that August is usually a slow month, what better time to dump a slump?

http://budurl.com/dqsp

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5. Listen and Learn Real Estate: 180 audio podcasts,
over 50 hours of training, one low price.
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"Such a deal"--Listen and Learn has done well at $29.95 per month, but we wanted to reach more people with this valuable product. You can now access the entire library of 180 podcasts on every major topic you need to do well in today's challenging market. Whether you're having issues with pricing properties right, generating leads, or understanding how to use blogging and the social media, our comprehensive real estate library has the information you need to make your business soar tomorrow. To see 50 of the 180 titles click on http://listenandlearnrealestate.com/programs.html or to order: http://listenandlearnrealestate.com/amember/signup.php

Best of all-we'll be adding to the library all year long. This is the best way to keep up with the latest strategies and tactics that will leave your competition in the dust.

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6. Featured Products: The Hottest New Tool from Real Estate Connect
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United Lane Corporation and Real Estate Coach have partnered together to provide you with the stunning tool Open3DHouse(tm). This powerful technology lets people visit houses at the touch of a button, generating valuable qualified leads that reduces your sales cycle and effectively targets your efforts.
Whether you have a distressed property that's a wreck, new construction, or just a cluttered house that the seller won't redecorate--not to worry. This powerful tool allows you and your buyers to redecorate with real furniture available online. Staging was never so easy. You can put the link in the MLS or anywhere else for that matter.
When visitors decorate your listing online, they have to register to save their work. You get the lead immediately. Here's what's really great--the price. For a one-story listing for 90 days, the prices start at only $75.00. Architects and designers charge a whopping $2,500 for 3D photos like the ones you see in this demo. This is the hottest tool to convert more listings into signed business and to harvest more qualified leads from the web. There's no charge to sign up and to see if the platform is right for you. This software was a huge hit at Inman--don't miss out.
http://www.unitedlane.com/realestatecoach/
The World is not flat! Take your 2D floor plan to the next level.

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7. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
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Looking for a well-trained coach who knows the real estate business? Our coaching team can help you increase your production and make your dreams come true. Send an e-mail to Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com and we'll help find the right coach for you.

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8. Give Us Your Feedback On This Newsletter
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We want your feedback-to share your thoughts and suggestions, please e-mail us at Shane@RealEstateCoach.com.

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9. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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Visit our Web site, http://www.RealEstateCoach.com to subscribe/unsubscribe to RealClues.

Copyright (c) 1996-2009, RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute RealClues as long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the contributors to this newsletter is attached.

Contributors to this newsletter:
Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC, Owners, www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com; www.RossdalePress.com; and www.TeleconferenceLine.com
Shane Bowlin, REC General Manager

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